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24' 1923 Sweepstakes Racer "Baby Horace III"

Baby Horace III was built in 1923 by the Horace E. Dodge Boat Works in Detroit, MI. As a contender for the 150 Mile International Sweepstakes Race to be run on the Detroit River in 1924. The 1924 race was the second annual race and bought out some of the finest raceboats and engines ever assembled in the sport. The importance of the Sweepstakes Race was that boat and engines were pushed to their limits over a non-stop 150 mile course. The early years of the race produced ten to twelve boats at the start, a large field in any race. Offering a grueling pace, strong competition and fast speeds. Dodge named the boat after his son - Horace III
A twelve cylinder 500 hp Packard power plant was run in 1924 and this engine evolved into the Sweepstakes engine that Packard offered in the 1925 races. Baby Horace ran sixth in the 1924 races and second in the 1925 races. The 1925 winner was Packard Chris Craft with the same power as Baby Horace III. These boats were seconds apart thru-out the entire 150 miles and speeds on the three mile laps averaged over 55 MPH. http://www.vintagehydroplanes.com/apba_history/notebook/1996_06.html